With four goals and four assists for Chennaiyin FC, last year’s top-scorer Elano has not missed a beat in the second season of the Hero Indian Super League either. The former Brazil international is also one of the reasons behind Colombian hitman Stiven Mendoza’s rampaging form. However, Elano won’t feature in the first leg of Chennaiyin FC’s semi-final against defending champions Atlético de Kolkata in Pune on Saturday due to suspension. The match was moved to Pune due to devastating floods in Chennai. The 34-year-old spoke to indiansuperleague.com ahead of the match and shared his thoughts on the contest. Here are the excerpts from the interview.You will be watching the game from the sidelines in the first leg along with Mehrajuddin Wadoo, two important players for the squad this season. Do you think that will affect the team?Losing two players to suspension is never a good thing but all of us believe in each other so we have full faith in the replacements to step up and make a difference.Since you won't be playing tomorrow, will you be more motivated to play in Kolkata in the next game?I have more motivation to win the ISL this time because last year I might have won the Golden Boot but couldn't win the big prize, which is the ISL trophy. I always prefer team honours over individual success.You've lost both games to Atlético de Kolkata this season, is that playing on your minds? And how is the team planning on overcoming them in the semis?I think both league games against Kolkata were tight and could have gone either way. We were possibly slightly unfortunate to lose both games. But that won't really have any impact on the semi-finals. It is a knockout stage now so the scenario changes. However, there is no doubt that Kolkata is a good team with quality players."I think we have an even better side this time but didn't perform to our full potential in the first ten games."Elano BlumerStiven Mendoza is running away with the Alto K10 Golden Boot Award. Your thoughts on him?He is a quality player and has improved with every game this year. I hope he keeps scoring for us.Having been here both last season and this, what is the change in the team? And also, which of the Indian players have impressed you the most?I think we have an even better side this time but didn't perform to our full potential in the first ten games. However, we performed under pressure and that is always a good sign. It would be unfair to single out names but I must praise Wadoo for his positional discipline and consistency and Jeje has taken his game to another level this year.Has the team developed an even stronger motivation to win the title this season for the fans, after the floods in Chennai?Yes, of course. We will play for everybody in Chennai and try to bring home the ISL trophy for them.Playing the home leg in Pune must be a setback for the team and the fans. How do you see the first leg of the semi-final panning out as both teams will be playing away from home?Yes, it is not ideal but we will give everything to win the first leg.
